With You
by Kuruk
Summary: To the librarian, love is something so powerful that it renders you clueless. When it is snatched away from you, it is agonizing. To the summer traveler, love is the spice that makes life beautiful. Love has a funny way of proving you wrong.


_Hey, Kuruk here!_

_So. It seems that _**Jean Cooper**_'s crack pairing, Kairy (Kai/Mary) has been gaining popularity. I'm one of the guys her new pairing has gotten to... I'm having an internal struggle between the adorableness of Grary and Kairy... and I blame _**Jean**_ for that. (glares)_

_Well, this is a Kairy, which is adorable and fluffy and squee-inducing, and I also thank her for introducing this to me._

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Harvest Moon. But if I did, then when all of the Graire fans married Gray in MFoMT, then Kai would go ahead and marry Mary. Because that librarian so deserves it.

_Hope you enjoy!_

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_**With You**_

I thought that the day Gray married Claire was the day I said farewell to any notion of love. I'd thought that the only love I would have would be the unrequited type-- a hopeless, one sided feeling towards a married man that would haunt me for the remainder of my life.

I loved Gray so much. Back then he was the only man to acknowledge me as a woman and not as the mousy librarian that never left her library. When Gray would visit I would always feel light-headed and nervous, when our eye met I would blush scarlet, when we touched I would feel a bit of electricity flowing through me at the feel of his skin.

It wasn't long after he started visiting me that I fell in love with him.

I thought that maybe Gray felt the same way, that one day he would tell me that he loved me, and then I would get the happily ever after I had always read about.

But then Claire came to town.

I know I should hate her-- at the wedding Karen told me I should herself. Is it so wrong to say that perhaps I was happy for them?

Claire was my friend. She would be one of the only people to visit my library and she was so friendly, intelligent and warm. She befriended me quickly and I'd always thought her a good friend since then. I love Gray so that the fact that he was happy with my friend and not I made my happy... for the sole reason that Gray was happy.

And yet the heartbreak hurt me so...

All through their perfect, fairytale wedding it was all I could do to keep from crying. It was as of I was being torn in two different directions-- one begging me to mourn the loss of the man I loved, and the other insisting that I be happy for two of my dearest friends.

So I was a mixture of both. While my eyes were red and swollen when Claire walked down the aisle, I couldn't help but smile in happiness for them, two people that loved each other so much that they were going to spend the rest of their lives together.

I can't say it was easy. In fact, the wedding was the easy part.

The hard part were the months after. When Gray would no longer visit my library, when I would see them together at a festival, so blissful together...

The months of loneliness were almost too much to bear.

I'd been used to it before... but it seemed that once I'd tasted having people I loved and enjoyed keeping me company, it was so much harder than before.

Seasons passed slowly and almost at an agonizing pace. Time was almost irrelevant to me. My loneliness wasn't affected by the weather...

Little did I know that the weather was what would bring me company and so much more.

I don't exactly know why he walked into my library. All I do know that when he walked into my library it was a hot, sunny day and he looked so confident, so sure and handsome that I was stunned...

Not to mention that he had never visited my library before...

"Hey," he said walking over to the counter I sat behind and leaning his elbows on it, dark eyes looking into my own with an emotion I couldn't place, "This is the library, right?" he looked around, then scratched at the back of his head, a silly grin on his face, "Well that's a stupid question... look at all the books... sorry."

"O-oh n-no i-it's quite alright..." I murmured, looking at him nervously through my glasses.

He smiled wide then. "Well, I was wondering if you had any cookbooks around here...  
he said, looking past me at the shelves lined with books, "I'm thinking of adding a dish to the menu at the Snack Shack-- my restaurant down by the beach, you know?-- and I thought maybe you'd have some recipes I could take a look at."

I stuttered my answer, as always. "Y-yes... I-I k-keep th-them up-upstairs... s-second shelf t-to your r-right..."

"Thanks a bunch," he said before going up the stairs, leaving me alone.

I was both shocked and flustered to say the least. Kai and I had met, of course. Everyone in town was already acquainted to everyone else... but he and I had never been alone together, never interacted beyond an excited Popuri dragging him around on the Beach Festival and introducing... so this stunned me.

Besides that, Kai and I were such different creatures. I was a sheltered librarian that saw the world through her books while he was an adventurous traveler that saw the world for himself. I wondered how we would ever get along...

I hoped I wouldn't scare him away or bore him to death...

I fretted about that until Kai returned with a book. "Found it," he said, showing me the book, '101 Amazing Summer Recipes', "This is just what I'm looking for!"

"O-oh..." was all I could say.

Kai gave me a thankful look. "How long can I have this out for?"

I pushed my glasses up the bridge of my nose, blushing a little at his gaze on me. "A-as l-long as y-you'd like, r-really..."

Kai gave me a questioning, almost concerned glance, then spoke. "Thanks again," he turned to walk out of here, maybe forever, but then he turned around and gave me a smile, "Why don't you drop by the Snack Shack tomorrow?"

The fact that he'd just said that as if it were the most normal thing in the world did nothing for my surprise. Kai, _Kai_, had just walked into my library, checked out a cookbook, then asked me to visit him at work.

Was this a dream? A prank? Something out of the Twilight Zone?

Kai took my silence as hesitation, it seemed, judging by the way he immediately shifted gears. "Well, you know, only if you want to. I just wanted someone to taste my new dish and you look like the type that would enjoy some good eats."

I began to nervously smooth down my smock. "I do...?"

Kai laughed. It was a sound that made you want to laugh too, that made you feel comfortable and relaxed. "Doesn't everyone like food?" Kai teased, a playful glint in his eyes.

"Well..." I started, "I s-suppose that's t-true..."

"Good," he said, looking genuinely pleased, "Then I see no reason for you not to come tomorrow, Miss Librarian. Come by tomorrow at three. And bring your appetite!" he winked and was gone before I could say anything else, leaving me once again alone in my library, only this time simply stunned beyond words.

I couldn't help but fret over everything the next day. I must've redone my braid a dozen times to get it just right, ironed my clothes so that not a single wrinkle could be seen, polished my shoes so that they shined... all the while nervously hoping everything went okay.

By the time I got dressed it was time to go meet Kai at his restaurant, so I hurried out the door, quickly left a note on the library door that said 'out to lunch', and hurried towards the Beach.

I hesitated at the door when I reached it, then reluctantly knocked softly on the door. "Just a minute!" came the muffled reply to my knocking. A few moments later the door opened and there was Kai, wearing a white apron, a big smile on his face.

"Right on time, Miss Librarian!" he said cheerfully, stepping aside to let me in, "I like punctual women."

I blushed at his comment and let him sit me at the counter, where I only then noticed the heavenly smell wafting through the room. My mouth watered and my stomach growled quite loudly... loud enough for Kai to hear.

He laughed. I blushed.

"Someone's hungry," he said with a laugh, raising an inquisitive eyebrow at me as he grabbed a plate from the sink and set it before me with a fork.

"I didn't h-have the c-chance of eating breakfast..." I tried to explain feebly, looking down at my plate, the blush still coloring my cheeks.

He laughed once more and retreated into the kitchen. Seconds later he returned with a frying pan, sizzling fish atop it. He deftly plucked a spatula from the sink and effortlessly put it on my plate. "Hold up!" he said with a smile. He fumbled behind the counter a bit and emerged with a few things. He put some type of sauce on the fish, adorned the plate with some herbs, and served me a glass of iced tea. He then leaned back from the counter and gave me an encouraging smile, "Go ahead. Eat up."

I took the fork and brought a piece to my mouth, careful to not seem unmannered... only to find that the dish was so incredible I couldn't contain myself from letting out an appreciative 'mm' and eating the fish quickly, amazed my my own hunger.

Kai watched as I ate in something like awe and surprise. It was only when I had basically eaten everything off the plate that I noticed Kai's gaze on me. I fidgeted a bit uncomfortably in my seat, and after a few more seconds of his gaze on me, he seemed to snap out of the trance he was in and notice my discomfort.

"Wow," he said simply, that look still on his face, "You _do_ have a good appetite," he stated, looking pleased with himself for some reason.

I blushed... was that even a compliment? "T-thank you..." I murmured.

Our eyes met, both of our dark orbs meeting each other's for a few seconds. There was something there, I don't exactly know what, but it was different than what I was used to, with Gray. In those few seconds I suddenly felt myself relax.

What did I have to worry about...?

I found myself smiling for the first time in a long time. I started to giggle too, covering my mouth with my hand. Kai's dark gaze remained on me as I laughed, and then he started chuckling.

And just like that the summer traveler and I were laughing together as if we were old friends.

All good thing ended, this was no exception. Kai broke are comfortable shared laughs, snorting a bit to get past his laughter. "I hope you have some room for desert."

I raised an eyebrow, still giggling a bit. "Oh?" I said, my voice calm for the first time in a long time, "Did you have anything in mind then?"

Kai nodded. "The house specialty, of course," Kai said, reaching behind the counter again and pulling out a paper cone, "You see, I have a tradition here... Anyone that walks in has to eat a snow cone," Kai explained as he shoveled some powdery ice in. I watched all this with a sort of childish delight, "But they don't tell me what taste they like, so I'm the one that has to guess the flavor. If I get it wrong, the customer gets the next meal free. If I get it right though... I get one favor."

I looked at him oddly, then grinned. "Alright then. How many have you guessed correctly, just for curiosity's sake?"

Kai smiled proudly. "I've guessed everyone's favorite flavor rightt up until now."

It's hard not to be intimidated by that, but I just gave him a smile and watched as he brought up a bottle to the counter, then after giving me a serious look where he scanned every detail of my face, making me blush again, he poured a pink colored liquid onto the ice until the circular dome-like ice was dyed that same pinkish color.

He then handed it to me, a confident smile on his face. "Try it," he urged me happily.

I cautiously licked it a bit first, but when I couldn't decipher the taste from that, I took a bite of the ice and was met by the sweet taste of my favorite food. Despite myself I smiled, and Kai knew that he was right.

"Guess I was right..." he smiled at my blissful expression, "Man, I'm going for a new record..."

"Peach," I said simply, the sweet taste still on my tongue, the cold of the ice numbing my lips, "How did you know?"

Humbly, he ran his hand over his bandanna covered head, a smile on his face. "It's a gift I guess."

I smiled, then looked up at the clock and realized that my lunch break would end soon and I would have to get back to the library, despite the fact that no one would visit... I still liked keeping my word.

"I have to go," I said, the reluctance in my words showing through.

Kai looked a bit disappointed, but he nodded nonetheless and escorted me out. I blushed again at his courteousness.

"So, I'll see you again?" I asked him, hoping that he'd say yes.

He nodded and I started to walk away, conscious of his stare on my back. "Hold up," Kai called, I turned around, meeting his eyes across the sand, "I still get a favor, don't I Miss Librarian?"

I blushed and nodded, he smiled wider. "I want you to come back for lunch tomorrow!" he said much to my surprise, "And I want you to share those stories of yours with me, and then I'll tell you about all my travels!"

I nodded a bit choppily, so happy at his request that I could barely get the next part out. "I'd... love that!" I called back, blushing under the hot summer sun. Our eyes met one more time over the expanse of sand separating us, then he smiled, gave me a wink and waved a little before reentering the Snack Shack.

I stood there a while, blushing and feeling strangely whole again. It felt good again, felt wonderful... so much better than the times I was with Gray, so strange... yet so blissful.

Maybe I wouldn't get the happily ever after I'd hoped for before, but maybe, just maybe, this happily ever after would be different... and I'd be happier.

Definitely not the sparks that I'd always felt with Gray, but like the explosions of color that shot up into the sky at the end of summer.

Fireworks.

And really? What more could I wish for?

Now the only problem was what I would wear tomorrow...

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_A/N: Hope you liked it! I love Kairy! (glares at_** Jean**, _who is probably beside herself with joy at confusing the Grary lovers)_

_Well, please review!_


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